Trade between SA and the Middle-East
The lucrative possibilities of Middle-East countries starting to prioritise South Africa for future investments were announced recently, creating exciting opportunities for local companies such as Trade Ocean.
South African Trade and Investment Minister Rob Davies presented the opportunities arising from collaboration between countries in the Gulf and South Africa at the Emirates Business Forum, which coincided with President Jacob Zuma’s visit to the East.
“South Africa has enormous potential as an investment destination offering promising opportunities in automotive components, aerospace, chemicals and agro-processing,” Davies said. “The existence of co-operation between government and the private sector in the South African market also puts South Africa in an advantageous position, particularly in the global markets.”
The South African Government is proud of the fact that our country is currently the largest investor within the African continent, with SA companies offering valuable expertise, knowledge and the required relationships to succeed in this promising market.
The Minister illustrated his point by mentioning South Africa’s ability to recover after the 2008 economic recession; the World Bank report which ranked South Africa 34th out of 183 in the world for the ease of doing business in 2010, and the fact that South Africa was a gateway to the SADC region.
“We are confident that there are enormous opportunities in our country and the sub-continent, particularly for upgrading existing or new investments in manufacturing across a range of sectors both for domestic demand and export, including to the emerging African markets,” he said.
Minister Davies did add that there was greater room to grow the volume of two-way trade and to create a more diversified balance of SA exports.
Countries of the Gulf region pursuing investment opportunities here would help with the development of our infrastructures and export capabilities – also great news for companies such as Trade Ocean and our business partners.
